BILL REQ. #:  H-4894.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to bilingual voting assistance; creating new sections; and providing expiration dates.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The purpose of this act is to create a task force to effectuate the legislature's intent to enact section 203 of the voting rights act.
     This section expires January 31, 2007.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) A joint select legislative task force on increasing voter participation for single-language minority groups is established, with members as provided in this subsection.
     (a) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.
     (b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives.
     (c) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives jointly shall appoint members from each of the following groups:
     (i) Two members representing county auditors or election directors in counties that are required to provide election materials in a language other than English. One of these members shall be from a county required to provide election materials in Chinese, and one shall be from a county required to provide election materials in Spanish;
     (ii) Four representatives from bilingual communities;
     (iii) Two representatives from an organization with expertise with section 203 of the voting rights act;
     (iv) One representative of an organization that has expertise in civil liberties.
     (d) The office of the secretary of state shall cooperate with the task force and maintain a liaison representative, who shall be a nonvoting member. The office shall cooperate with the task force and provide information as the cochairs may reasonably request.
     (e) Appointments under this subsection must be made within thirty days of the effective date of this section.
     (f) The task force shall choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership.
     (2) The task force shall:
     (a) Make recommendations on implementing the requirements of section 203 of the voting rights act within the state;
     (b) Identify ways to increase voter participation by single-language minority groups who do not speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process;
     (c) Recommend parameters for providing languages other than English on voting and election materials; and
     (d) Make other recommendations as necessary.
     (3) Staff support for the task force shall be provided by the senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.
     (4) Legislative members of the task force shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (5) The expenses of the task force shall be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.
     (6) The task force shall report its findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 2007.
     (7) This section expires January 31, 2007.